John Pym

John Pym (c. 1583-1643), English parliamentary leader, born in Brymore House, and educated at the University of Oxford. He was a Puritan leader, and served in every Parliament from 1614 until his death. He was prominent in the agitation that preceded the passage through Parliament (1628) of the Petition of Right, a list of grievances presented to King Charles I. He was also a major supporter of the so-called Grand Remonstrance of 1641, in which Parliament demanded governmental reforms. Pym was one of the five members of Parliament whom Charles attempted in vain to arrest in 1642. During the English Civil War, Pym was a member of the Committee of Safety and was responsible for the alliance that brought Scottish forces into England.